When you're the best at what you do, it's not always easy to walk away. Nathan McBride was retired. The trained Marine sniper and covert CIA operative had put the violence of his former life behind him. But not anymore. A deep-cover FBI agent has disappeared along with one ton of powerful Semtex explosive, enough to unleash a disaster of international proportions. The U.S. government has no choice but to coax Nathan out of retirement.

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Publisher's Summary

When you're the best at what you do, it's not always easy to walk away. Nathan McBride was retired. The trained Marine sniper and covert CIA operative had put the violence of his former life behind him. But not anymore. A deep-cover FBI agent has disappeared along with one ton of powerful Semtex explosive, enough to unleash a disaster of international proportions.

The U.S. government has no choice but to coax Nathan out of retirement. He's the only man with the skills necessary to get the job done. But almost as soon as Nathan reluctantly accepts the assignment, he finds himself caught in the middle. On the one side is a ruthless adversary with a blood-chilling plan - and on the other are agents who will stop at nothing to see their own brand of justice done.

It's hard to find a sniper thriller these days, much less one that manages to feel technically authentic while having 3-dimensional characters. This novel does all of that, and it also avoids recycling typical terrorist or serial-killer thriller plotlines. This is an original, well worth the price.

I thought Dick Hill did a superb job. The characters were believable, the dialogue sharp, and the plot kept me listening. The romantic involvement was low key and tastefully done. It wasn't immediate or forced. I didn't have a problem with it at all. I hope to see more Nathan McBride adventures from this author!

This was a new author for me and I was a bit skeptical at first, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Right from the beginning I was drawn into the story and the characters. I thought the reader/narrator was excellent and gave each person a very distinct personality. OK, perhaps the story line was a little far fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. I am looking forward to another selection by this author.

The first book by this author was a very enjoyable listen. If you are a fan of Lee Child's "Jack Reacher novels" you should enjoy this book. As a matter of fact the combination of Peterson's writing style and Dick Hill's narration this book is almost indistinguishable from the Reacher books. Same style, same story line, same everything (Child may have a lawsuit on his hands)... The Reacher series being one of my favorites I consider it high praise that this author was able to mimic it so closely. I look forward to the next book from Peterson and I hope he decides to make this a series and they choose Dick Hill to narrate again. Listen and enjoy.

I tend to stay with my "tried and true" authors, but took a chance on this book and was truly amazed. Mr. Peterson has a formula that could easily bring him into the Lee Child, John Sandford, Jeffrey Deaver class of author. Highly entertaining and worth more than one listen, lets hope Mr. Peterson stays with this winning formula.

Dick Hill (the narrator) did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. I've heard he is one of the best in the industry. It was pleasure to listen to.

As a fan of action novels I had read that this is the debut of author, Andrew Peterson. The story starts right out with adrenaline pumped action, and the first chapter tells you the bad guys aren't fooling around. The remainder of the novel has lots of action, and introduces us to a new character (Nathan McBride). It's fun to be reading the first in a series.

McBride is a special forces type who can shoot straight and hit what he aims for. Lots of technical information for those who like to know about weapons, helicoptors, etc, but not over the top. Lots of deeper questions are examined which make the topic very current. How far can or should we go to protect the innocent?

suspenseful with great plot. was not familiar with author but will be looking for more from him in future. My favorite narrator of all time is Dick Hill. That was the deciding factor. another terrific job.

Would you consider the audio edition of First to Kill to be better than the print version?

Yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of First to Kill?

There were many, but the torture of Arnie Bridgestone was narrated so well that I got squeamish !!

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Any additional comments?

The story was sort of predictable. There were some twists that were meant to surprise the reader, but one could see them from a mile away. Nothing really surprised me, but the story was not dull, it was action filled and full of well timed humor. The narration was top notch and never missed timing on the jokes. For me the book stands out because of the narration and makes the story feel better. I am happy I bought it.

This story was very well thought-out, good delivery and excellent narration. Characterisations were better than most in this genre.

Looked for more by this author but nothing yet . . .

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Adrian of Wales

UK

1/18/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Rather breathless narration"

As a Brit I found the narrator's cadence peculiar & his occasional gasps for breath off-putting; the story seemed very contrived to put flesh on the "sniper" bones of the story. Early on the hero proclaims that detail is all important whilst observing that his opponent must be on amphetamines since he has constricted pupils… wrong!!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

D. Allen

Spain

10/4/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"a bit formulaic, but passable"

This is all very standard predictable good-guy-beats-bad-guys-and-helps-people type thing.

I'll probably track down the next parts in the series (although I notice that they are rated higher than the first book) but I'll probably pay 70p to borrow them from my local library instead of using a credit here on Audible.

Dick Hill's good, I listened to him reading some Jack Reacher novels.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

H. J. Cazaly

SW London, UK

9/7/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Bloodthirsty or what, but cracking book"

Would you listen to First to Kill again? Why?

Yes, good twists and turns. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to good thriller readers

What did you like best about this story?

Whilst some twists and turns you could see as a coming possibility, many were not

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favourite?

Nathan but also liked Holly

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The finale was well written and kept you in suspense. It was a very colourful story.

Any additional comments?

A cracking read and kept it's momentum all the way through.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Daniel

Wednesbury, United Kingdom

7/23/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A great listen following Jack Reacher addiction"

If you could sum up First to Kill in three words, what would they be?

Action Strategy Results

What did you like best about this story?

I was looking for a similar series to Lee Child's Jack Reacher books and glad I found these. They lack some of the twists and turns of the Jack Reacher series however make up for it in other areas. If you liked Reacher chances are you'll like this.

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I love the way that Dick Hill brings the story to life. He seems to capture the nature of the characters in both the tone and accent. There never seems to be a dull moment, I reckon he could keep you interested whilst describing drying paint!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Potentially but it would be a marathon sitting. Perfect for the commute and definitely one I looked forward to carrying on with.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth a listen.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Stephen

Alresford, United Kingdom

5/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Poor mans Jack Reacher"

What disappointed you about First to Kill?

Weak story, characters not beleivable

Would you ever listen to anything by Andrew Peterson again?

no

What didn’t you like about Dick Hill’s performance?

everything

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from First to Kill?

whole book!

Any additional comments?

As you can tell not my book even though I am a huge Lee Childs fan and you would have thought this a similar genre

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Edward

Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom

5/6/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A book to equal Jack Reacher"

Any additional comments?

An excellent edge of the seat book that had me hooked until it was finished. Nathan MacBride is as ruthless and tough as Reacher. Now started Book 2.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Barry Rogers

Navan, Co. Meath, IE

5/14/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Jack Reacher rip off"

How could the performance have been better?

This book is such a rip off. Lee Child should be told. I found the book poor in every way. I am so anoyed. I wanted to like the book. I could not finish it.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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